Treason & Treachery
by Nicole-Lavinia1993
Summary: King Henry VIII has gone to visit Jane Seymour at Wolfhall. Once he and his party arrive the king agrees to the suggestion of hunting but something terrible happens and Henry dies. Will Princess Elizabeth be crowned Queen of England, or will the illegitimate Lady Mary steal the Crown and usurp the throne? What will happen if the Lady Mary is successful? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note!

This is the first fanfic that I've ever written, so if you leave a comment, please be kind. Any hateful, rude, ignorant etc, comments will be ignored. Constructive criticism is welcome, negativity is not. Thank you and I hope you like my story! }i{

Prologue

Charles Brandon,

the Duke Of Suffolk's POV

2nd April, 1536

It all happened so quickly. Though at that moment it seemed as though time stood still. I sat upon my horse, just behind King Henry, a man I consider a great friend, and was laughing at something that Thomas Seymour had said when Edward Seymour gave a cry of excitement at spotting a buck causing the horse that His Majesty was on to startle and throw Henry off. We all stared in shock, unable to move, as the King fell from his horse, and when he hit the ground we heard a great cracking sound. I launched myself off of my own horse and ran to His Majesty's side, noticing as I knelt to the ground that he had hit his head on a rock, hard enough that his head had caved in. There was no saving him. King Henry VIII Of England was dead.

Chapter 1

Charles Brandon,

Duke Of Suffolk's POV

2 April, 1536

For a few moments after the Kings sudden and shocking death we all were like stone, we couldn't move. Then time sped up and the Seymour's were panicking, the Kings guards were apprehending Edward, Mistress Jane fainted causing her to fall from her horse, her ladies worriedly checking over Janes person, Sir John Seymour was stunned into silence, and Thomas looked as though he would be ill.

We were only 2 miles away from Wolfhall thankfully, as that meant we could quickly get there and summon a Physician to declare the King as dead, and a Priest to preform the Last Rights. Myself and the Kings Guards set about getting everyone back onto their horses, getting the King on a stretcher, and raced back to Wolfhall.

Once we had arrived back at the Seymour's home we quickly brought the King indoors. Sir John called for a servant and told him to fetch the physician and ordered another to fetch the family's Priest. Both boys were rather young, having not yet reached 20 years of age I'd wager, and were struck dumb at the sight of the Kings lifeless body.

"What do you think you are doing, standing there like fools! Go now and fetch the physician and the Priest and do not tarry or I shall have you both whipped!" Shouted Sir John, causing the boys to startle and rush to do as they were ordered.

I turned to Sir John with a sigh and in a cold tone said, "Rather than scolding the lads for being shocked at such a sight, should not you be tending to your still unconscious daughter? Or perhaps your son, who has caused the death of the King, even if it was an accident", while giving him a look of derision.

Sir John stood there for a moment gaping at me in silence, making him look rather like a fish out of water, before he turned red then rapidly pale and turned towards the unconscious Mistress Jane.

I shook my head and turned back to the lifeless body of the man I consider not only my king, but also my greatest and oldest friend, and was unable to truly believe what it was that had happened and what I was seeing. Wishing that this was all just a terrible dream and that I would wake at any moment and find myself in bed. But it was not to be.

Suddenly there is a scream of anguish, and I turn around to see that Mistress Jane has awoken and has seen the Kings body, the body of the man she so clearly loved. Instead of immediately removing the poor lady to her private chambers and having one of her ladies get her a tumbler of warm wine with calming herbs in it so that she may settle, Sir John looks at his daughter with disgust and says,

"Stop your blubbering this instant girl! You are shaming your family!"

At which point he raises his hand and strikes her across the cheek with a loud slap and leaving a vivid red handprint on her face. I and the others in the room all stare in shock at Sir John. How dare he slap his grieving daughter, as though it is her fault that the king is dead!

I stand up to my full height, and with fury plain in my voice I shout,

"Guards! Take this man outside and do not let him back in until he has calmed himself and can deport himself as a man of his status should!" At this 3 of the Kings guards move forward to grab Sir John and remove him from Wolfhall.

Once he is gone from the room, I turn to Jane and find her still on the floor where she had fallen when her father struck her, holding her cheek. I walk over and bend to help Jane to her feet and wait until she is in the hands of her ladies before softly telling one of them to fetch her a glass of warm wine with calming herbs and to soak a piece of cloth in cold water before holding it to her cheek.

"My Lord?" She says in confusion.

"The coolness of the cloth will help lower the swelling and will take away the pain faster then if she did not use the cool cloth." I explain. She nods her understanding and rushes to do as I asked while the rest of the ladies gently help Mistress Jane to her chambers.

As soon as they are gone from the room the physician comes in followed in short order by the family's Priest. The Priest immediately recognizes the situation for what it is and crosses himself with the rest of us doing the same. The physician is struck dumb for only a moment before moving to look over the Kings body with the utmost care and respect and declaring in short order what we all already knew, but that had to be announced.

"The King is gone to God. The force with which he must have hit the rock caved in the Kings skull causing His Majesty to pass on. There is nothing anyone could have done to save His Majesty." He says gravely with an obvious catch in his voice.

The physician moves to the side so that the Priest can come forward to pray over the King and preform the Last Rights. Once that is done the physician requests some parchment and a quill and ink so he can write up his official report of the Kings injuries and the cause of His Majesty's death.

As all of this is happening I cannot help but wonder what this will mean for England and Her people.


	2. Chapter 2

Treason and Treachery

Chapter 2

Charles Brandon,

Duke of Suffolk

2 April, 1536

After the physician and the Priest had left I ordered the Kings Guards to cover His Majesty with a sheet. Once that was done I turned to Sir John and asked, " Sir John is there something that might be used to transport His Majesty back to Court?"

"Not of the size required, Your Grace," he replied, "however, there is a wood worker not very far from here, he might be prevailed upon to assist in this matter and his work is most excellent."

I contemplated the idea of contacting someone unknown for such a service, knowing that to do so would be to risk the common people and even those at Court discovering what has happened. However I also knew that the man could and most certainly would, keep his silence if he were paid handsomely enough. Heaven forbid that His Majesty's whore finds out about this before I have had a chance to alert the Princess Mary of what has happened.

Making my decision I turned to the Guards once again and said, "Go to this man, this wood worker, and tell him to make a box the size of a fully grown man, that it is to be worthy of someone of high rank, but do not tell him that it is for His Majesty. Take this purse with you and make certain that the man understands that the coin is not only to pay for his services but so that he will keep his own council on this matter. Make certain that he understands that he is to tell no one that he was commissioned by the Kings Guards. Go."

Once the Guards had departed I turned again to Sir John, "Is there somewhere that I may write a letter in private?"

Though he looked confused, Sir John answered that I may use his private office and called a servant to take me there. Once I was safely ensconced within the privet office I leaned back against the door and dragged my hand over my face, knowing that what I was about to do was treason, but feeling that the alternative is much worse. Walking towards the desk I made certain that it held everything I would need in order to write this most important of letters. Sitting down I started to write,

_2 April, 1536_

_To Her Royal Highness, the Princess Mary,_

_I am most dreadfully sorry to have to inform you that this very morning, His Majesty The King, your Father, and myself along with several of the Kings Guards, traveled to Wolfhall, home of the Seymours, to join them in a hunting party. During the hunt, while we were not more than 2 miles away from the aforementioned residence, His Majesty's horse was startled and when it reared up, His Majesty was thrown and upon hitting the ground his head struck a rock with such force as to render His Majesty dead._

_I cannot begin to understand how painful it must be for you to receive such news, most especially in a letter, but I would like for you to know that you are not alone. Take heart, Dear Princess, for there are those who still believe you to be the true and only legitimate heir of your Father, His Majesty Henry VIII, by the grace of God King of England, Ireland, and France. I am one such person. We shall not allow the bastard daughter of the late Kings concubine to ascend to the throne. We will champion you, fight for you, and pray for you to ascend to that most highest of ranks, as Her Majesty Queen Mary, by the grace of God Queen of England, Ireland, and France, as the royal blood that runs in your veins demands! We will not let that heretic who dares to call herself Queen to place her bastard daughter, the Lady Elizabeth, upon the throne that is rightfully yours. We will help you to bring the true religion back to England and Her people, riding Her of the Protestant Heretics in one fell swoop. _

_We Shall Not Bow To A Heretic And Her Bastard._

_Your most humble, loyal, and obedient servant, _

_Charles Brandon,_

_Duke of Suffolk_

Once I had read over the letter, I sanded it to dry the ink, folded it and placed my seal on it to keep it from being read by anyone other than Her Majesty, Queen Mary. With that done I placed the letter into my pocket and returned to the entrance where everyone was still gathered, walked over to Thomas and gave him the letter, telling him who it was for and what it contained.

"Can I trust you to find a way to deliver the letter to the Princess Mary?" I asked him once we were a little ways away from the others.

"Absolutely, Your Grace." He replied.

I sigh, "Good. I am entrusting my life into you hands Thomas, do not disappoint me. You will not like the consequences if you do."

Thomas turns pale but nods his understanding and I turn and walk over to Sir John, telling him that his son has need to talk to him on a matter of great importance and mutual understanding, and upon watching him walk to Thomas, I could only pray that the letter would not fall into the wrong hands, that it would reach the Princess Mary safely and without suspicion. For if it doesn't, I, the Seymour's, and the Princess Mary will all be in danger of losing our heads.


	3. Chapter 3

There is a slight time jump here, but just to the next day

Chapter 3

Thomas Seymour POV

3 April, 1536

The past day has been hellish. It started off well enough, the King came to visit Jane and we all decided to go hunting. We weren't far from the hall when King Henry was thrown from his horse and died, and then chaos ensued. Edward was apprehended by the Kings Guards, Jane fainted, Father just stood there gaping, and I thought I was going to be ill. Once we got back to Wolfhall the physician and the priest were sent for, and when they arrived the physician told us what we already knew and the priest gave the last rights and prayers and they left.

After they had left, Brandon asked Father if he had anything that could be used as a temporary coffin for the king but Father told him we don't. So Brandon ordered a few of the Kings Guards to go find a wood worker and bribe him to keep silent about what was happening. Then Brandon asked if he could use Fathers study to write a letter so father showed him the way and came back. When Father came back he walked over to me and so did Edward.

"What a disaster. Now what will happen to us? And what about Princess Mary? The concubine will never welcome her back to court, and the true religion will never be brought back to England." I said.

Edward was the one who answered, "Once the Kings whore finds out about this she will undoubtedly try to have us all sent to the tower for the Kings death, and if she fails at that then we will none of us ever be able to show our faces at court again."

"Blast it all! For Jane to have been so close to marrying the King and now he's gone and killed himself. Now all our hard work was for naught!" Father raged.

Edward and I looked shared a look before Edward hissed, "Father, it is not wise to speak so with the Kings Guards so near! Do you want to be thrown into the Tower for treason?"

Father began to turn red and looked as though he was about to yell at Edward for presuming to speak to him thus when Brandon came back and asked me to see that the letter he'd written was sent to the Princess Mary.

Gods blood, what was I thinking by agreeing to deliver Brandon's letter to Princess Mary? How can I possibly get it to her without it being intercepted? And if it is intercepted then we can all of us be sure that we will soon face the chopping block.

After that the wood worker arrived with the Guards that were sent to fetch him here. He had a carriage full of smoothed wood along with his tools and some spare sheets to work on. As soon as. He came in Brandon walked over and introduced himself,

"I am Charles Brandon, Duke Of Suffolk, and you are?" He said.

The wood worker stared for a moment before hurrying to reply. "I am William Peters, Your Grace." He said with a bow.

"William Peters, you are to keep silent as the grave about everything you will see and hear will you are here. If you do not, you will be arrested for treason and taken to the Tower of London. Do you understand?" Brandon demanded.

Mr. Peters stammers as he answers Brandon,

" Y-yes Sir. I u-under-understand."

"See that you do", was all Brandon said in reply, before explaining the situation to Mr. Peters. Once that was done the man went to work on making the King a temporary casket and leaving us to just stand there, not knowing what we were supposed to do now.

Jane Seymour's POV

3 April, 1536

I woke up with my head pounding. As I sat up and looked around I couldn't help but wonder how I had come to be in my room. As I was thinking about that I heard a soft noise to my right and looked over to find Audrey, my hand maid, sitting next to me sleeping peacefully. I didn't want to wake her but I needed to know what had happened and how I had come to be in my room.

"Audrey, wake up please." No answer, not even a twitch. I tried to wake her a few more times before deciding to raise my voice, "Audrey!"

When she woke she fell off of the chair she was sitting on and landed on the ground with a thump causing me to let out a giggle.

"Are you alright Audrey?" I asked in between giggles.

"Yes Lady Jane, I am well." She says with a huff of annoyance as she pulled herself to her feet, before sitting down again.

"And how are you feeling Lady Jane? You had quite a shock yesterday, but then didn't we all-"

I interrupted her before she could continue,

"What do you mean I had a bit of a shock? What happened? And how did I come to be in my room?" I demanded to know.

Audrey looked at me in shock, "You mean you don't remember, lass? Nothing?"

I shook my head and said, "The last thing I remember is going out in a hunting party with my Father, Brothers, the King, the Duke Of Suffolk, and the Kings Guards..."

Audrey looked at me very sadly and gave a quiet sigh before saying, to my astonishment, "Lady Jane, my luv, there was an accident. The Kings horse was started and threw the King off, and when the poor man hit the ground, he hit his head off a rock and died. You fainted when you realized what had happened, you poor lass."

I stopped listening when she said that the King is dead. I couldn't believe it. All my hard work these past months, gaining Henry's attention, refusing to go to bed with him, pretending to be a pure, naive, innocent, docile Lady, putting up with him constantly trying to touch me and kiss me, ignoring the fact that the wound on his leg smelt so terrible that I wanted to vomit every time I was next to him, all the time I spent turning him against that harlot, Anne Boleyn... It was all for nothing!

It's not fair! He was supposed to have the harlot executed and marry me! I was supposed to be Queen! It was supposed to be me! I did all that hard work and now I've got nothing to show for it! What's going to happen to me now?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

William Rogers POV

Captain of the Kings Guards

3 April, 1536

As I watched the chaos around me after the Kings sudden death I knew that someone had to alert the Queen as to what had happened. And knowing the Duke Of Suffolk, he would be most unwilling to let her know.

Not many people knew this, because they all thought that Charles Brandon was unfailingly loyal to His Majesty and would never dare to question the Kings actions or such, but myself and a few others are aware that Brandon was loyal to the late Dowager Princess of Wales and continues to be loyal to her daughter, the Lady Mary. He is known amongst myself and a few others to refer to the Lady Mary as Princess Mary, referring to the true Princess of England, the Princess Elizabeth, as the bastard daughter of His Majesty and His Majesty's Concubine, refusing to acknowledge or even accept, that the Kings marriage to the late Dowager Princess of Wales was invalid from the very start as she had been married to His Majesty's brother, the late King Arthur. As such, King Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon was an act against God, as proven by the lack of living sons during their marriage.

I watched as Brandon asked to be shown to a private room to construct a letter, and knew immediately that he was looking to write to the Lady Mary about what had happened. Undoubtedly he would profess his unwavering loyalty to her and her late mother, while besmirching the good name of Her Majesty, Queen Anne and that of her daughter, the Princess Elizabeth.

I dithered over whether or not to confront him, but knew that if I did not, that if I allowed the treasonous letter to be sent, then I could intercept it and would therefore be able to show the Queen and the Council that Brandon is nothing but a traitor, to not only his King, but to Her Majesty Queen Anne and the Princess Elizabeth, who is now the rightful Queen of England.

As I am thinking about all of this, Brandon walks back into the room, immediately striding towards Thomas Seymour and motioning to Sir John to join them. Without gaining any notice I slowly moved closer towards them in order to hear their whispered conversation, and I was not disappointed. I listened intently as the traitor Brandon requested that Thomas take the letter and deliver it to the "Princess Mary" posthaste. I could see that the man had no wish to do so, but upon his Father saying that he would gladly accept such a charge, he had no choice but to comply.

I observed as Thomas Seymour took the letter from Brandon and gave a short bow, before he turned and walked from the room. I scanned the room and realized that the others of the Kings Guards had taken notice of the interaction and had come to the same conclusion as I about the likely contents of that letter. Gaining their attention we all gathered around His Majesty's body and held a short discussion.

"Gentlemen, I think we can all agree upon what that letter holds, can we not?" I ask and after receiving nods from them all I continued, "We shall wait for 30 minutes after the Seymour boy leaves before myself, Michael, and Richard move to follow him. The rest of you will distract the others in order to keep them from noticing our absence. Once we feel it appropriate to intercept Thomas Seymour, I will confiscate the letter and read it aloud. As soon as we have verified the contents, we will arrest the traitor Thomas Seymour before returning here in order to arrest Brandon and the other Seymour's. Are we agreed on this course of action?" They all murmured their agreement, "Good. When I give the signal, which shall be a cough, you will create a subtle distraction so we may escape at which point you all will move to ensure that no others leave this house for any reason. Understood?"

"Yes Sir" they all reply, with rather predatory smirks or grins upon their faces.

"Spread out and be ready to move" I order them, watching as they start to spread around the room, all the while making it look perfectly normal in order to not arouse anyone's suspicion.

Once 30 minutes have passed, I give a slight cough as though I am merely clearing my throat, at which point the youngest and newest member of our ranks, Robert Ashton, decides that the distraction shall be himself fainting. He pulls it off effortlessly, while the rest of us struggled not to laugh at his antics, and Michael, Richard and I make our escape while the others in the room rush to young Roberts supposed aide.

As soon as we are outside we move for the three fastest horses, which happen to be the Kings horse, my horse and Brandon's horse. We quickly mount the beasts and start off in the direction that it was so obvious that Thomas Seymour took.

It was not long before we were able to spot a cloud of dust up ahead, and we knew we were close. As we closed in Seymour must have heard our horses, as he looked over his shoulder and swore quite colourfully, before urging his own horse faster.

But he was not fast enough, and we soon had him surrounded, myself in the front, and Michael and Richard on either side of him.

I glared at him and said, "Why the rush Mr. Seymour?"

Richard chuckled and said, "Perhaps there is a letter he wishes to be rid of."

"Well then, perhaps we should retrieve the letter from him in order to relieve him of his burden" Michael adds with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes skyward at their antics before looking back at Thomas, "Give me the letter son."

He looks at me defiantly and says "What letter?"

I sigh and signal for Michael and Richard to grab Seymour so that I may search his person.

"Do you think us to be fools? Did you truly believe that we did not notice when Brandon had a private conversation with yourself and your Father, during which you were handed a letter? Or that you left the room and then the house but a few moments later?" As I am saying this I reach into the inner pocket of his overcoat, and remove a letter. A letter with the Duke Of Suffolk's personal seal upon it.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Richard taunts.

I open the letter and begin to read aloud.

_"2 April, 1536_

_To Her Royal Highness, the Princess Mary,_

_I am most dreadfully sorry to have to inform you that this very morning, His Majesty The King, your Father, and myself along with several of the Kings Guards, traveled to Wolfhall, home of the Seymours, to join them in a hunting party. During the hunt, while we were not more than 2 miles away from the aforementioned residence, His Majesty's horse was startled and when it reared up, His Majesty was thrown and upon hitting the ground his head struck a rock with such force as to render His Majesty dead._

_I cannot begin to understand how painful it must be for you to receive such news, most especially in a letter, but I would like for you to know that you are not alone. Take heart, Dear Princess, for there are those who still believe you to be the true and only legitimate heir of your Father, His Majesty Henry VIII, by the grace of God King of England, Ireland, and France. I am one such person. We shall not allow the bastard daughter of the late Kings concubine to ascend to the throne. We will champion you, fight for you, and pray for you to ascend to that most highest of ranks, as Her Majesty Queen Mary, by the grace of God Queen of England, Ireland, and France, as the royal blood that runs in your veins demands! We will not let that heretic who dares to call herself Queen to place her bastard daughter, the Lady Elizabeth, upon the throne that is rightfully yours. We will help you to bring the true religion back to England and Her people, riding Her of the Protestant Heretics in one fell swoop. _

_We Shall Not Bow To A Heretic And Her Bastard._

_Your most humble, loyal, and obedient servant, _

_Charles Brandon,_

_Duke of Suffolk"_

I glare at Seymour and struggle to contain my anger at what I have just read, and can see that Michael and Richard are doing the same, "Well gentlemen, I believe we have some more traitors to arrest."

Richard binds Seymour's hands behind his back and he and Michael work together in order to toss Seymour upon his horse sideways, after which the three of us mount our own horses, and after ensuring that the traitor is secured I have Michael grab the reins of Seymour's horse at which point we begin our journey back to Wolfhall.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Robert Ashton POV

One of the Kings Guards

3 April, 1536

As myself and the other guards moved into position along the wall, completely unnoticed, in order to block off the exits I couldn't help but think about how stupid Charles Brandon and the Seymour's must think us all. I find it difficult to believe that they truly thought that we wouldn't notice what was happening between them. After all, they weren't being very discreet about it, were they?

As I waited to hear Captain Rogers cough I started to think of possible distractions. At first I considered throwing myself at the side of His Majesty's body and weeping, but thought that to be going to far. Then I considered pretending to be ill, but couldn't figure out how to do that without them all realizing that I was faking. I was about to give up and allow one of the other guards to think up a suitable distraction, when I suddenly remembered how everyone reacted to Mistress Janes fainting episode yesterday. I realize that their reaction was so severe because Mistress Jane is a woman, but I also realize that they would react almost as strongly if one of the Kings Guards were to lose consciousness. My mind made up, I struggled to hide the grin that wanted to appear upon my face so that I wouldn't give anything away.

It was only a few minutes after I had decided on my course of action that the Captain cleared his throat, at which point I allowed my body to go limp and fall to the floor with a crash. Blast it all, I had forgotten how loud armour could be, and was now struggling not to laugh as everyone in the room rushed to my side.

"Gods blood, is the lad alright?" Asked Samuel Thomas, one of my fellow guards. I could hear the tightly contained laughter in his voice, but only because I had known him since childhood.

"Should we send for the physician again?" Worried Sir John Seymour.

Brandon scoffed, "And cause a ruckus over a mere guardsman? Nay, leave him where he is and he will come round on his own."

I could sense my fellow guardsmen stiffening at that and prayed they would be able to let it go for now. But it was not to be...

"A mere Guardsman? A mere Guardsman you say?" George Wilkes growls out, "And if this "mere Guardsman" as you call the lad, were born the second son of a noble would you still consider him a "mere Guardsman"?" I can hear the other guards starting to grumble in agreement of George's words.

"Yes." Brandon says in clear irritation. " I would, because son of a noble or not, he would still be nothing but a Guardsman."

What an imbecile. Can he not see that he is only making things worse for himself? But he wasn't done yet.

"And what gives you the right to speak to and question me as though you are my equal? You, just like the pathetic excuse for a guard lying there on the floor, just like your fellows surrounding you, are nothing but a lowly Guardsman. You are irrelevant, and would be very easy to replace." Brandon sneers at George.

Good God, this man has got to be the stupidest person I have ever met!

"Ahem", someone clears their throat, "Brandon you are out of order. These men are not just guardsmen, they are the Kings Guards. That, if nothing else, makes them some of the most important men in the country." Spoke Edward Seymour, to my astonishment.

"And what good are they? They failed to protect His Majesty when he fell from his horse yesterday! Why did they not rush to save the King? What good are they if they cannot even do their jobs!" The imbecile spat.

At this point I had decided to start to "come to", if only so that the imbecile would shut up, but before I got the chance Captain Rogers, Michael, and Richard came storming into the room, dragging a bound and gagged Thomas Seymour behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

William Rogers POV

Captain of the Kings Guards

3 April, 1536

It was not long after we captured the traitor Thomas Seymour that we arrived back at Wolfhall. Upon walking in I saw, to my amusement, that young Robert was still lying upon the floor pretending to be unconscious and that the men surrounding him seemed to be in some sort of argument about the importance of a Kings Guard. I motioned for Michael and Richard to take Thomas back outside and followed along behind them.

"Well lads, it looks as though we have reappeared to an interesting situation," I chuckled.

Michael laughed, "An interesting situation? Robert is still lying upon the floor, pretending that he has fainted, and the rest were so preoccupied with arguing that they did not even notice we were there!"

"Or that we have young Thomas Seymour here bound and gagged!" Added Richard with a grin.

With laughter in my voice I said, "Well then lads, what do you say we make a grand entrance?" To which they both agreed, so we walked back into the manor, and shoved the doors open hard enough that they crashed against the walls on either side of them.

The argument immediately stopped as they all turned to see who had stormed into the Hall, and upon seeing what exactly was in my hand and that Thomas Seymour has clearly been arrested, Brandon and the other Seymour's turned white and then froze while my men helped young Robert back to his feet with smirks upon their faces.

I looked at Brandon and the Seymour's with a sneer upon my face, and said, "Did you really think that the Kings own Guards wouldn't have noticed you all sneaking about and having whispered conversation? Or that we wouldn't become immediately suspicious of the letter that you handed to young Thomas here? That we wouldn't go after him once he left to deliver said letter, and upon reading its contents, arrest him before returning here to arrest you all as well?" By the time I finished I was shouting and the traitors were all looking as though they had messed themselves.

Brandon cleared his throat before taking a hesitant step forward and saying, "How dare you read my private letter without my permission? You had no right sir, none at all."

I glared at him, "Perhaps I didn't, but once I read what you wrote I had every right to do so." I said.

Brandon gaped for a moment before speaking, "I don't know what you are talking about."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, was he truly attempting to talk his way out this? I decided to put a rest to all complaints, accusations, and denials by opening the letter and reading it aloud for all in the room to hear.

Once I had finished the room was silent as the grave. The Seymour's had clearly accepted their fate for their part in all of this but Brandon, it seems, was not willing to go down without a fight.

"I am the Duke Of Suffolk, best friend of King Henry the Eighth of England, Ireland, and France, you have no right to take my private correspondence and read it without my say so!" Brandon shouts.

I raise my eyebrows at him, "Duke Of Suffolk or not, best friend of the late King or not, no one is above the law. Not even you, Your Grace." I finished with a sneer on my face and sarcasm in my voice.

"How dare you! Do you have any idea of who you are speaking to?! I am a Duke! Not some commoner that you can speak to however you like! I -"

"ENOUGH!" I roared at him, "You have committed treason, against the King, against the Queen, and against the only true, legitimate Princess in England, the Princess Elizabeth, who will soon be crowned as Queen of England!" Here Brandon attempts to interrupt me, undoubtedly to proclaim that which he already expressed in his treasonous letter to the Lady Mary, but I had heard quite enough from the traitor. "NO! You will not speak! Guards, arrest Charles Brandon, and his fellow traitors John Seymour, Edward Seymour, Thomas Seymour, and Jane Seymour! Bind them with rope and gag them so we do not have to listen to anymore of their treasonous words"

My fellows moved at once to do as I ordered, with three of them going up the stairs in order to arrest Jane Seymour. Not long after they disappeared around the corner I could hear a commotion happening and went to investigate. Upon reaching Jane Seymour's private chambers I was astonished and disgusted by what I was seeing and hearing.

"How dare you enter my chambers without my express permission! Do you have any idea who I am?" Jane Seymour screeched at us.

I rolled my eyes to the heavens, dear God, there's another one who thinks their importance is greater then it truly is.

"Madam I apologize, but it has come to my attention that your Father and brothers, along with Charles Brandon, have been committing treason against the Royal Family." I say as calmly as I can.

"What do you mean? We have done no such thing! We are completely loyal to His Majesty the King, and his true wife and only legitimate child, the Queen Katherine and the Princess Mary!" She continues to screech.

My expression darkens, and in a voice of ice I respond "Madam, there is only one true and anointed Queen of England and that is the Queen Anne Boleyn, and her daughter, the Princess Elizabeth, soon to be Queen Elizabeth, is the only true and legitimate daughter of the late King Henry the eighth." My tone brooks no argument, but the harpy either doesn't notice or doesn't care, for she continues once again.

"NO! The whore Anne Boleyn is not now nor has she ever been the true Queen of England! And as for her child, the Lady Elizabeth, well she is nothing but an unholy bastard!" She shouts, "I have worked to hard in turning the King away from his concubine, and placing myself in his path in order to become the Queen Jane of England, pretending to care for the King, when all I wished to do anytime I was in his presence was to vomit at the smell emanating from his leg, putting up with his constant pressing of me to go to bed with him - "

This is where I had truly had enough! "How dare you speak of your King, Queen, and Princess in such a manner! Guards! Arrest this treasonous creature immediately! And be sure to gag her so she cannot spew forth anymore of her venom!"

"Yes Sir!" They say with looks of absolute disgust at what the wretched girl had said.

As they move to apprehend Jane, she does something that none of us could have predicted.

"No! I will never let you arrest me! I am Jane Seymour, future Queen of England and beloved of the King! You may not place your hands upon me or arrest me!" She cries out while attempting to escape. The problem was, she headed for the window closest to herself, which was open, and... she jumped.

She jumped before any of us could try to stop her. She jumped from the third floor of Wolfhall in an attempt to avoid arrest, and I guess she succeeded in doing just that, because no one would have been able to survive a fall from such a height.

Jane Seymour was dead.


	7. Chapter 7

** AUTHORS NOTE **

Hey everyone!

First of all I would like to apologize for the fact that this is not an actual chapter and that I likely won't be posting for a while, as I've caught a rather nasty cold. (thank you Subway restaurant worker who decided to sneeze all over me)

I would also like to thank you all for your kind reviews! Reading them makes me think that maybe I'm not as bad a writer as I thought! I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying my story so far and I can only hope that I will be able to continue to write chapters that you'll all enjoy! This is the very first story I have ever written, and your patience with my admittedly overly dramatic portrayal of certain characters is greatly appreciated.

Again, I'm sorry that this isn't an actual chapter but hopefully I will be feeling better soon so that I will be able to post a new chapter for you all!


End file.
